Family Search and Engagement

Family Search and Engagement Unit (FSE) supports the Division of Family Services (DFS), Child Protective Services (CPS), Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Division of Youth Development (DYD), and Juvenile Probation with searching for and engaging families and kin of children and youth active with DCYF.

As a result of this work, 73.1% of the children who are in foster care are placed with a relative or are in non-relative kinship home.

What we do:

FSE makes connections for children and youth through the review of case records and the use of the TLOxp, a person search tool. 

FSE also combines information gathered through the RI Judiciary Portal, RI Kidsnet, and social media to develop a family tree to guide Social Caseworkers and Child Protective Investigators in connecting children and youth to family and kin. The team works in real time with the Special Investigations Unit to conduct extensive searches while they are in the community locating youth who are listed as absent from care. 

Further, FSE supports and assists Social Caseworkers by directly reaching out to families and kin through phone calls, texts messages,  and social media in an effort to engage family and identify connections for children and youth open to DCYF.